Dust flux, Vostok ice core

Two dimensional phase space reconstruction of dust flux from the Vostok core over the period 186-4 ka using the time derivative method. Dust flux on the x-axis, rate of change is on the y-axis. From Gipp (2001).

Friday, January 8, 2016

News flash! Gold-silver ratio dips below 20!

At least in jewellery stores in Zhengzhou. Gold jewellery is normally sold by weight--today's price was quoted at 289 yuan per gram for 22 carat (I think!) gold. Silver items (chopsticks and bowls, which aren't quite as labour-intensive) are being sold for 15 yuan per gram. That gives us a gold-silver ratio of 19.27, not allowing anything for fabrication.

Meanwhile, here is the ratio recently. We can see how often the gold-siver ratio was at its "normal historical ratio" over the last 40 years.

It happened in December, 1979, when the gold-silver ratio was 14.6. The only month in the last forty years when the price of silver was completely free from manipulation.

Silver is pretty pricy at local coin stores as well. Even in multi-kg amounts, the quoted silver price is well in excess of $40 (US) per ounce. When I asked about why the price was so much higher than the world price, it was suggested that if I knew someone willing to sell silver at price, I should go there and buy it. Here, this is the price.

I am not sure whether or not this is a marketing issue within China, where silver has a long history of significance.

On the plus side, you can buy plenty of "silver" at local "antique" markets for a good price--often even below the world price!

Hmm, that's interesting.I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theory that gold is being propped by China's silver lending to the US, but shortage of phyaz in China would be one expected result of that. Interested readers can check out a recent post on this theory on the JSMineset blog.